EVANS: I WANTED STABILITY STAGS GIVE ME
STEVE EVANS insists he has no regrets about moving down two divisions to take over at Mansfield Town, despite reportedly having offers from clubs higher in the footballing pyramid.
Evans left his post at Championship club Leeds United at the end of last season and was heavily linked with several posts in the EFL, notably Charlton Athletic of League One.
However, the 54-year-old opted to take charge at Field Mill and was appointed in November, succeeding Adam Murray as Mansfield manager.
Since then, the Stags have propelled themselves up the league and are one of the form sides in the division in 2017.
And Evans claims the off-field stability at Mansfield attracted him to the job.
“I didn’t want to go to a fire-fight,” said the Scot. “I wanted to go in somewhere that was really secure and somewhere that would back it. I am absolutely loving it.”
Evans made eight signings during the January transfer window, with the same number exiting either on loan or on a permanent basis.
The manager thinks if they hadn’t freshened up the squad, the Nottinghamshire side would probably be battling it out at the wrong end of the division.
“We said we would organise the football club structurally and we needed support in the transfer window,” he said.
“If we didn’t change it in the transfer window, we would probably be in a battle at the bottom.
“You are fortunate when a chairman (John Radford) gives you his blessing, but he also asked us to balance it.
“We have got eight in and eight out and probably levelled the money up from a business point of view.
“The chairman will be pleased because he has got a better product.”